MEM SOFIT IN THE GREAT ISAIAH SCROLL

by Jeremy Chance Springfield10/6/17

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The detail found in the Great Isaiah Scroll / DSS text concerning Isaiah 9:7 with the term L’MAR’BEYH is that it does not possess the Mem sofit (final mem / closed mem) that the Masoretic text of Isaiah 9:7 displays. I have asserted in my study: THE VIRGIN BIRTH IN TORAH that this detail missing from the oldest scroll of Isaiah in existence is problematic for those who attempt to use the detail that exists in the Masoretic text of Isaiah as proof of a virgin birth. Although I am a steadfast proponent of the Scriptural validity of the miraculous, virgin birth of Messiah, this particular verse is lacking in weight to prove such doctrine. The missing form of the Mem sofit in the Great Isaiah Scroll shows that there was a time when the term was written by scribes without such concept at play. This means that the most ancient witness of that text does not support the letter having any significance towards pointing to the virgin birth concept, and in that way, detractors of Yeshua as having been born from a virgin could very well cite such a detail as proof against His unique and miraculous conception.

However, there are those who might instead argue that the Great Isaiah Scroll does not represent an accurate reading in this particular instance. While I would love for that to be the case, as I attempt to pay attention to every scribal oddity and textual anomaly of Scripture that comes with a traditional, historical view attached to it, and glean from the Spirit whatever He may have intended by such detail, I think that the evidence weighs in heavily against merely dismissing the text of the Great Isaiah Scroll as one where the scribe missed including the Mem sofit in this instance. I base this opinion not on a personal reason, but upon hard facts that have come from carefully assessing the nature of the Great Isaiah Scroll itself.

The Great Isaiah Scroll has a textual landscape that has significant bearing towards the term of question in Isaiah 9:7. The text possesses a total of twenty-six (26) different uses of the Mem sofit appearing inside of a word! If there are more, I am not aware of them. This far outweighs the single instance preserved in the Masoretic text of Isaiah. Some of these appear couched within a term, as we see in the instance of the Masoretic version of Isaiah 9:7, and others appear in a unique format in that the Great Isaiah Scroll version of some terms possesses a letter Heh on the end, marking terms as feminine in gender, instead of the Mem sofit that would be expected otherwise. Still, the presence of these Mem sofit letters inside so many terms in the Great Isaiah Scroll displays further evidence that the presence of the single Mem sofit in the Masoretic text of Isaiah 9:7 is the actual anomaly, and not the other way around.

To further add doubt to the validity of the Mem sofit in the Masoretic text of Isaiah 9:7 is the use of such form in other texts found in the Qumran caves along with the DSS Isaiah text. It is found not only in the text of the prophet Isaiah, but also in scattered instances in Exodus, Leviticus, Psalms, and Ezekiel, as well as many other non-canonical works preserved as part of the community’s holy texts. Even more, there are instances in the Qumran texts of Kaf sofit letters appearing within terms – a detail that should add yet more doubt to the appearance of the Mem sofit in L’MAR’BEYH of the Masoretic text of Isaiah 9:7 as being originally significant. The most logical reason for this is that the scribal practice at work within the Great Isaiah Scroll was not one that was codified yet, or else the prolific use of sofit letters within terms would not have been countenanced by the very strict religious regulations of the community. What we see, then, is that the use of the sofit letters was apparently not overseen by any strict guidelines at that time. The scribal tradition of the Masoretic version of Isaiah came after a standardization of use of the sofit letters, for they were all but eliminated in their use within terms.​In light of this information that is textually based and not merely personal opinion, I can only deal with the text in integrity by asserting that the presence of the Mem sofit in the Masoretic version of Isaiah 9:7 is not reflective of the original intent by the inspired writer. For those interested, all twenty-six (26) appearances of the Mem sofit as it is used in the DSS Isaiah text have been included below, for comparison and verification of what has been discussed in this addendum to THE VIRGIN BIRTH IN TORAH. I have bolded the letter M in the font in each transliterated example of the relevant term so the reader can further see which letter is in the unique format. ​